Italian GP: Max Verstappen closes in on title with Monza victory

Max Verstappen took victory at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell, to cap a fine run of three wins in as many weeks over the course of the triple header and close in further on the championship.

The Dutchman has strengthened his grip on the title race incredibly since the return from the summer break with him winning at Spa, Zandvoort and now Monza, and this weekend it proved, in the end, a fairly simple task.

Though he was starting from P7 thanks to a five-place grid penalty he was soon challenging Charles Leclerc, who started from pole, for the lead of the Grand Prix.

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By lap five Verstappen had worked his way up to 2nd but it was around different strategies that he would end up taking victory here.

Ferrari brought in Leclerc to go from softs to mediums much earlier than Red Bull made the same decision with Max and it was from there that the Dutchman had the advantage.

He was able to make his soft tyres last longer in the first stint, meaning he could look to pull off a one-stop strategy, whilst Leclerc found himself having to complete a minimum two-stop strategy as he pitted in the second half of the race for another set of softs, having been on the mediums for longer.

A late Safety Car threatened to add a bit of spice to the closing stages, meanwhile, but the leaders would both pit and, with Daniel Ricciardo’s car (the cause of the SC) stricken and not moved in time for any more racing laps to be held, Max was able to seal victory ahead of Leclerc and Russell.

The Red Bull driver can win the title as early as the next race in Singapore, though Japan or the US after that look more likely.

Verstappen leads the Drivers’